The Kindness of Strangers
by DetectiveInspectorSydney
Summary: In which red and George are out running errands with their mother, or, in which a little ice cream goes a long way.


They had been at a crossroads. There had been a choice, and they had stepped way over the line. Fred and George Weasley, in all their seven years, had never been in this much trouble. It was bad enough when Dad caught them trying to pull Ron into an Unbreakable Vow. The whalloping that had ensued, not to mention the unrestrained lecture that followed, from first their dad and then mum too. They both agreed it was more than fair, but three days on, they were in Diagon Alley running errands with their mother, and she refused to look at or speak to them. For the last 2 and a half days, she would only answer their direct questions, and even then, it was kept to a three word minimum. Today, when she had told them they were going shopping, and handed them the clothes she expected them to wear out, had been the most she'd spoken to them since Tuesday afternoon.

So, here they were, giving mum a wide berth, and tugging at the uncomfortable mustard yellow identical sweaters she had saddled them with. It was November, so sweaters were in order, but even for being out in the damp cold, these sweaters were hot, not to mention itchy.

"She's definitely trying to toture us with these." Fred whispered as they made their way after their mother, down the steps of Gringott's. George shrugged miserably, hardly noticing the bloke who nearly trampled him on his way up. There was an unusual crowd today, and the weather was increasing the suffocating effect it produced.

"It's no more than we deserve." George muttered back. Out of the two of them, he had probably taken Dad's tongue lashing the most to heart. Fred just wished he knew what to say to cheer him up.

'The way I see it, we've more than done our time. We've degnomed, we cleaned out Dad's shed, we let Ginny dress us up like bleedin' "Uni-mer-pixies," whatever the hell that means. We even helped Percy organize his bookshelf. Twice!" Fred tugged again at the collar of his sweater. "I swear if this thing doesn't make me break out in hives, it'll be a miracle."

"Fred, she's going into Wiseacre's." George grabbed his brother's arm, and sped them along up the street, again dodging at least five different witches and wizards.

* * *

Molly Weasley was not having the best day. Really, she was not having the best week. Her two middle boys had tried to trick their younger brother into an Unbreakable Vow wherein he would promise to give them his dessert portions for the rest of his life, she was worried about her second eldest because Minerva McGonagall had sent her an owl yesterday telling her that Charlie had broken his leg at Quidditch practice yesterday (never mind what she said about it being a mild fracture), today Arthur, Percy, Ginny, and Ron were all at home, miserable, with colds, and to top it all off, the overhanging mist indicated that it was probably going to rain.

The colds were the reason she had been forced to take the twins out to do the shopping with her. It wasn't ideal, Molly had been looking forward to some time to herself, but if she could avoid a whole house full of sick people, then so much the better.

She glanced behind as she made her way down the bank steps. There were her two yellow and ginger blobs. Well, they looked like blobs in this weather. She could see one of them scratching his arm. She imagined the sweaters she'd picked out for them were itchy, but they were at least warm and brightly colored, so that she could spot them in a crowd. And if the wool irritated their skin a little bit, that really wasn't on her list of priorities.

Molly Weasley loved all of her children equally, but Fred and George were every inch the trouble-makers Gideon and Fabian had been, and in the last seven years, she had gained a renewed appreciation for her mother's patience.

She hadn't been in the house, when Arthur had caught the twins with Ron, in their room holding one of her brothers' old wands. She'd been out in the garden, and only came running when she heard Arthur shouting through the open window.

If she had not seen it with her own two eyes, she wouldn't have believed it. She still didn't know where Fred and George had learned the spell, or what could I possessed them to actually attempt it. The most either of them had done up till then was levitate a book when she asked one of them to hand it to her.

Truthfully, it had scared her. She was every bit as angry as Arthur had been, but after the spanking and strident lecture he'd given them, Arthur had been able to move on. Molly was having a harder time getting a handle on her own emotions, and she knew that the twins could feel it, given that they hadn't said a word to her since they flooed in, and were still keeping a good breadth of distance. So long as she could see them, she supposed that was alright for now.

Molly continued along down the street, until she reached Twilfitt and Tattings. Ron and Ginny were in sore need of new trousers. She glanced back again, and sure enough, the twins her still following behind.

* * *

Wiseacre's always smelled bad, but at least the merchandise was interesting. The twins browsed the specimen jars while their mother walked over to the counter to speak to the shopkeeper. Fred's stomach rumbled.

"Do you think if we asked she'd give us some money for sweets? We passed a stall in front of the Magical Menagerie." George merely raised his eyebrows at Fred.

"Well, could we at least ask if she packed sandwiches? I'm starving."

"Knowing mum, I bet she did. I suppose it couldn't hurt to ask. At this point, the worst she can do is say no." So, George bravely walked up to his mother, who was now inspecting the quill collection, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Mum? Did you pack any sandwiches? George and I are hungry." The person who turned around however, was not Molly Weasley.

* * *

A little cuckoo clock chimed noon, and Molly ceased her examination of the racks. She'd brought corned beef sandwiches for herself and the boys, and she knew that if she didn't get them fed soon, their reign of mischief would likely descend upon the assembled apparel. She turned, to ask the twins if they were hungry, only to discover that the children in question, were in fact two girls, Percy's age, and standing with their father, and helping him pick from a small assortment of muggle ties.

* * *

The woman Fred and George had thought was their mother, in actuality was hardly older than Bill, and just as startled to be addressed as 'mum' as Fred and George were to discover their mistake.

"Sorry? Are you lost?"

"We thought you were are mum. We don't know where she's gone." Fred has come to join George by the quills. Hunger completely forgotten as panic set in. George chin was wobbling markedly. The woman had noticed too.

"Well, I'm sure she can't have gone far. Why don't the three of us go outside, and see if she's out on the street. I'm sure she's looking for you too." Having few other options, the boys agreed. Sure enough, when they walked out of the shop, the unmistakable cry of "Fred and George" was ringing from up the street, a red faced Molly Weasley jogging to meet them, once she saw they're little hands waving as they jumped up and down. The three of them embraced, quite forgetting the kind stranger still standing there. Molly took each of their faces in turn, thumbing away the last few tears that still fell.

"Oh thank goodness! I am so sorry! I thought you were right behind me! Where did you go?"

"We were following you!" Fred insisted. "Only it turned out, we accidentally followed her instead." Molly stood then, and offered her hand to the smiling young woman.

"Thank you so much for looking out for them, I am so sorry for all the trouble." The woman laughed her off.

"Absolutely no trouble at all. I'm just glad we found you." Molly gave a kind of nervous laugh. The woman put her hand on George's head. "I believe this one said his brother was hungry. After an upset like this, the best remedy I can think of is ice cream. Would you let me buy you all some?"

"Oh no. Thank you, but we couldn't possibly impose."

"It's no imposition." the woman insisted. "My father's ice cream parlor is close by. My treat, I insist." Molly looked down at her two boys, and her heart melted. She knew she wasn't going to be able to resist.

"Well, alright then."

"Hooray!" the twins cheered.

"What do you say?" Molly prompted.

"Thank you." they chorused.

The woman smiled again. "You are most welcome." And so the four of them walked back up the street, each of the twins holding one of Molly's hands. As they were walking, a cloud moved, and let down a little November sunshine.

Fin

**A/N: A/N: Prompts-**

**Chaser Two: **_**Mistaken Identity. **_**Write about a case of mistaken identity.**

**6) (colour) mustard**

**1) (word) uncomfortable**

**10) (phrase) at a crossroads**


End file.
